Medieval burial slabs have been discovered under John's Bridge in the middle of Kilkenny city. They were discovered while dredging operations to improve the water flow under the bridge were under way for the River Nore Relief Flood Scheme.
Mr Ian Doyle, the archaeologist in charge, described the slabs as "quite a significant find". He said the pieces would add a lot to the information already gathered on this facet of medieval Kilkenny. A large amount of artefacts were found also. These will be put on display after the work ends. He and his team are still trying to ascertain exactly where the slabs came from before they were dumped into the river.
They were probably taken from the the nearby graveyards attached to St Mary's Church (off High Street) and St John's Priory (opposite Langton's Hotel, John Street)
Mr Doyle believes the practice of throwing the extremely heavy monuments over the bridge came to an abrupt end in 1763 when an earlier flood demolished the stone structure. The catastrophe claimed 15 lives.